Chris Klein is basically an MLS lifer. The league debuted in 1996, and two years later the Kansas City Wizards made Klein, a midfielder for the Indiana Hoosiers, the fourth overall pick. He played the next 13 seasons in MLS for the Wizards, Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy. After retirement, he worked his way up the Galaxy system from senior director of the academy to vice president to president, the job he has held since January 2013.

While talking to ThePostGame at this summer's Hashtag Sports conference, Klein explained the transition that MLS has made over the years. Originally, the league intended to give traditional American football fans another sport to enjoy. Instead, MLS found a niche among a pure group of American soccer fans that had not been tapped.

Klein also discussed the science that goes in to bringing in a foreign designated player. Klein played with David Beckham, and afterward, he brought such stars as Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos to Los Angeles.